LINCOLN - A representative of Nebraska’s counties told a legislative committee Monday that more study is needed before granting the power to set a minimum wage county by county.

“We typically don’t get involved in these main street business decisions,” said Jon Cannon, executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials. “This isn’t a power we’ve asked for.”

Legislative Bill 935, proposed by State Sen. Eliot Bostar, would allow a county board to set their own minimum wage which could be higher than the $9 an hour state minimum.

Bostar remarked that it makes little sense for the minimum wage to be the same "in the middle of Omaha and in the middle of Alliance."

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) representatives and Center for Rural Affairs representatives spoke positively of the bill. They mentioned that county officials were best situated to determine the local minimum wage. They also said that raising wages helps families escape poverty.

The Nebraska state minimum wage hasn't been raised since 2014 and the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour was last raised in 2009.

Susan Martin of the AFL-CIO said the federal minimum wage took account of inflation up until 1968. If it continued, she said, it would be at $21.36 an hour now.

Cannon said he was only aware of two other counties in the nation, Montgomery County, Maryland, and Sonoma County, California that have established higher minimum wages than their respective states.

Representatives of business groups, including the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, came out against the bill due to the negative impact it has on small businesses.

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